Factors that influence high school students' English oral communication skills in Ecuadorian face-to-face learning environments

Abstract

Abstract: This study Factors that influence the oral communication skills in English of the high school students in Ecuadorian face-to-face educational environments, had as objective to determine what linguistic and emotional issues affect the skills of Oral communication of high school students in face-to-face educational environments. This research was carried out in a public school in the city of Loja and used a mixed methods approach, which included both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The The sample of this study was made up of forty first-year students of secondary school and two teachers of English as a foreign language. The instruments used during the data collection stage were a questionnaire for students, a questionnaire for teachers, a semi-structured interview and an observation sheet. The findings revealed that both linguistic and emotional factors influence significantly on students' oral communication skills. Besides, the Interference from the mother tongue was the most influential linguistic factor, and the lack of self-confidence was the emotional factor that most influenced students when speaking in English. Furthermore, when comparing the results of the linguistic and emotional factors, it is found that emotional factors had the greatest impact on the skills of oral communication of students.